Phonograph Monthly Review, Vol. 2, No. 1 (1927-10)

The Phonograph Monthly Review October, 1927 6 >/3l! strain of constantly adjusting itself to suit the demands of visiting virtuosos, and consequently Dr. Herz has not been hindered in his carefully planned progressive development of the powers cf his ensemble. The Orchestra is of customary large symphonic proportions and its repertory includes an unusu- ally large number of modern works, in addition of course to practically all the standard sym- phonies, overtures, etc. Alfred Herz was born in Frankfort-am-Rhein, Germany, on July 15, 1872. He studied first at the Hoch Conservatory, where he attracted the attention of no less a personage than Von Biilow, and had his first post as conductor at the State Theatre in Halle. Later he became Hofkapell- meister at Altenburg, Elberfeld-Barmen, and Breslau. His first concerts outside of Germany were in London in 1899; in 1902 he came to Am- erica to take up his permanent residence here. For thirteen years he conducted German Opera performances at the Metropolitan Opera House; going to San Francisco in 1915. His renowned fame and authority in Wagnerian works has been won by no chance popular success, but by the years of untiring drill and care in the prepara- tion of stage performances. The multitudinous tasks and responsibilities of an operatic conduc- tor—and especially in Wagnerian music dramas —give the severest sort of schooling and the musician who successfully passes its rigorous tests is well equipped to take full advantages of the greater opportunities provided by an ade- quate symphony orchestra. Dr. Herz has been ‘Through the mill” as one might say, and his reputation is a hard-earned one of solid musical and directorial merits. To which are added, in the report of every musician who returns from the West Coast, personal quali- ties of equally high order. Indeed, the sincere and ready words of respect and admiration that crowd to these musicians’ lips when speaking of Dr. Herz are perhaps the finest of the many trib- utes that he has won. Sensationalism has played such a strong part even in the field of symphonic concert perform- ances and the rise of some conductors to a flashy but precarious position of public favor that it is reassuringly pleasant to see such unsensational sterling musical virtues as those of Herz winning so surely an appreciation that is both wide-spread and surely rooted. Dr. Herz’s name is connected with American Opera with his leading the first performances of Parker’s Mona and Fairyland, Damrosch’s Cy- rano, and Converse’s Pipe of Desire. He has also led the first American performance of Parsival, Salome, Rosenkavalier, and Die Konigskinder. Besides his leadership of the San Francisco Symphony, Dr. Herz is also well-known as a Con- ductor of the Hollywood Bowl Concerts, where he usually conducts a majority of the perform- ances. It is in no small part due to his efforts— augmented by those of the progressive and en- ergetic Hollywood Bowl Association — that the current season not only was an outstanding ar- tistic success, but also a most decided financial one, in fact, one of the most remarkable business achievements ever made by an American Sym- phony Orchestra in programs of standard classi- cal and modern music of the finest rank. All previous records for attendance were completely shattered and a permanent patron plan is being put into operation. . That this remarkable feat was accomplished with no sacrifice to supposedly “popular” taste is indicated by the character of a few of Dr. Herz’s programs, which included works like: Pre- lude to Parsifal, Strauss’ Heldenleben, Death and Transfiguration, the Siegfried Idyll, Rachmani- noff’s Second Concerto, Tchaikowsky’s Fifth Sym- phony, Love Death from Tristan and Isolde, Schumann’s First Symphony, Ravel’s Mother Goose Suite. (Acknowledgements should be made to one of our readers, Mr. Leslie H. Ely of Los Angeles, for his kindness in sending us programs of the Bowl concerts.) Herz and the San Francisco Orchestra are ex- clusive Victor artists, recording at the Victor Company’s West Coast Studio. The list of their works to date is as follows: Victor 6498-6500 Wagner: Parsifal—Prelude (3 parts) and Good Friday Spell (3 parts). Acoustically recorded. 6539 Massenet: Phedre Overture. (Acoustically recorded.) 1166 (10 inch) Delibes: Sylvia Ballet—Intermezzo, Valse Lente, and Pizzicati. (Electrically recorded, as are the rest.) 6585 Wagner: Tristan and Isolde—Prelude (2 parts). 1169 (10 inch) Wagner: Tristan and Isolde—Liebestod (2 parts). 6586 Kreisler: Caprice Viennois, and Delibes: Coppelia Bal- let—Dance of the Automatons and Waltz. 6603 (12 inch) and 1185 (10 inch) Rimsky-Korsakoff; Span- ish Caprice (4 parts). 6675-8 Mendelssohn: Midsummer Night’s Dream—Overture (3 parts), Nocturne (2 parts), Scherzo (1 part), and Wed- ding March (1 part). 6678 Schubert: Rosamunde—Entr’acte (1 part). (For review of the Tristan Prelude, see page 184, January 1927 issue; Spanish Caprice, page 230, February issue) ; Caprice Viennois, page 401, June issue; Mendelssohn Album, elsewhere in this October issue.) The effect of Dr. Herz’s first records, the fam- ous Parsifal excerpts, was one that every phono- graph enthusiast will well remember. New, elec- trical versions by other artists are appearing to- day, but it is doubtful whether these will ever be able to win the same esteem that Herz’s great readings won. As stated before, his fame as a Wagnerian conductor is based on nothing super- ficial, and to hear his splendid Wagnerian rec- ords—and especially the electrically recorded Tristan Prelude and Love Death—is a revelation to many music lovers who had confidently imag- ined that they had nothing new to learn about these works. His success with lighter fare was less expected, but equally pronounced; the Delibes’ pieces de- serve particular commendation. If the Kreisler Caprice is less successful, it is in large part due to the inability of the composition itself to bear or- chestral transcription, rather than to the actual performance. It was Herz’s recording of the Spanish Cap- rice, however, that most astonished music lovers unfamiliar with the San Francisco Symphony in concert, and which proved conclusively that its